Call for Papers: A Citizen Journal in Re-Imagining a 21st Century Democracy

[Announcement from he-sl listserv]

From: Warren, Scott <scott_warren@brown.edu>
Date: Tue, Jan 16, 2018 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Call for Papers: A Citizen Journal in Re-Imagining a 21st Century Democracy

Re-Imagining a 21st Century Democracy is a pilot journal that will crowd-source ideas on how to improve democratic practice from a citizen-centric perspective. We are looking for new ideas on ways that communities can engage individuals in democracy and promote democratic behavior and values, whether through educational practices, grassroots mobilization, government initiatives, or other means (largely at the local level).  We will then promote these ideas to the rest of the country and world. The journal is open to contributors of all backgrounds and occupations – scholars, practitioners, students, and others working to improve our democracy. 

The journal is being launched in conjunction with an ongoing project from Brown University's Swearer Center to promote and defend democratic values in educational institutions.

Innovative to this journal is that we will actively encourage articles written by stakeholder partners: scholars with students, practitioners and educators.  We want to encourage unlikely partners to demonstrate how they are working together to improvement democracy.

Content: The journal will contain 10-12 articles of 1,500 to 2,500 words. Each article should contain:

• A specific idea and practice that has promoted democratic values and behavior in an innovative, local way; or a plan for such an idea, if it has not yet been implemented;
• A component that has measured the success of the intervention (qualitative or quantitative), or a discussion of how a future intervention will be evaluated;
• Partnership between community practitioners, scholars, and students in writing of the piece (2 of 3 will suffice).

Application Process: We will solicit ideas for the journal from across the country and world – anyone can apply. The first step of the process is to submit a 250-500 word synopsis of the project, along with the proposed collaborators, by February 10^th.  A panel of judges will assess each submission based on pre-determined rubric.

The top 10-12 ideas will then receive coaching and support as the idea becomes the 1,500-2,500 word article.  After final submission, each group will receive a $500 award and be featured in the publication. For submissions featuring innovations that have yet to be carried out, the award is intended to help contributors implement their ideas in their communities.

More information: Contact Scott Warren, Swearer Center Democracy Fellow, at scott_warren@brown.edu.  Applications should also be sent to this e-mail address.